Brady (edit: Tom not Hoke) takes a pay cut (The Team The Team The Team!)

Brady (edit: Tom not Hoke) takes a pay cut (The Team The Team The Team!)

I figure it helps he has a model wife who takes in millions as well but this says a lot about Tom and how he's about winning and the team and not himself. I doubt you'll see this again as most players are just about themselves.

It actually makes more sense financially to do this. I'm kinda surprised more guys don't do it because if your team has the cap space to sign better players as your teammates your team will win more games, thus opening the door to better endorsement deals.

Not a fair comparision. One does not find such natural, charismatic actors like Peyton everyday. He is the Daniel Day-Lewis of the NFL endorsement circle. His role in that 2011 Papa John's commercial was simply breathtaking.

Clearly he'd like to close out his career on the same team he started with, which is to be admired. It's not like he needs the money, and it helps to get a better team around him. If I were him, I'd take the cut conditional on the front office spending it on O-Linemen.

He's investing in his career. He could end up making more money in publicity/endorsements as others have indicated, than he gives up. He's among the greats, but if he could win another superbowl or two, it would cement his legacy (which already is outstanding.)

At a certain point, satisfaction with career and legacy mean more than a few million to a guy who's worth that much. I'm not Tom Brady rich, not even close, but I pass up high paying jobs all the time because I make enough to be part of the 1%, but value my career enough to stay where I'm at because I actually like my employe and job.

his understudy, Mallet, is likely to move once more. An article in the Boston Globe today said:

"It's now a matter of when, not if, backup quarterback Ryan Mallett will be traded. With little good tape on him, it's going to be tough for the Patriots to get what they want, which, considering he's a third-round pick with two years development invested, would at least be a second-round pick if not a first-rounder. Hard to see a team giving that up at this point. But with a weak quarterback draft class, this is the perfect time;"

With Brady staying in NE till the end of his career, I suppose it is also in Mallet's interest to move on.

Mallett was always considered a first-round talent - the only questions were whether he had his head screwed on straight. Considering he's had a couple years of excellent coaching and not getting in trouble, I would think that his value now would be higher than it was coming out of college. If I were GM of a team like the Browns or Chiefs, I would pay a second-round pick for Mallett rather than draft Geno Smith or Matt Barkley in the first round.

I think he was OK in college but can't remember seeing him play at all last year in NE. My guess is that the Pats will looki for a 3rd qb in free agency, hopefully a veteran. In any case, if Brady goes down, the Pats go down with him. No backup will help them win a title.

He gets $60M guaranteed over the next 5 years instead of hitting the market as a 37 year old after the 2014 season. Fox Sports writer Peter Schrager makes some interesting points in his article about how both sides benefit from this deal:

With this new deal, Tom Brady will end up making 175M as a football player, plus an additional 75M in endorsement deals. Not a bad way to eke out a living earning 250M in a 17 year career. Supermodel wife bazillionaire doesn't hurt either...what's next...President Brady lol?

Actually, it's kind of a good question: what WILL Brady do after retiring? I can't really see him getting into acting or broadcasting, though he's certainly mansome enough. And coaching? No offense to the wives of coaches (including Kiffikins), but it's hard to imagine wanting to work 20-hour days instead of hanging out by the pool with Gisele.

Well, now we see that Brady is guaranteed way more money. So, yes, you will not see any one do something like this again. He is that good. You can't just give people guaranteed money if they are not that good. NE has some smart people cooking their books.

Linked in a Sports Illustrated article about Brady's contract extension is a 34-picture slide show [LINK] of "rare photos" in honor of Tom's 35th birthday. Some choice ones, including Tom on a Twosie, Tom with Donovan McNabb (and those mavens of Michigan fball history know when those two met before) talking with a third gentleman who was only a senator then, and Tom looking intellectual at the opening of the Uggs for Men store in NYC. (Oh, yes. There's at least one of him with his wife.)